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Friday, June 11, 2010

Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, 1958,

The Trade Marks Act 1999
Section 29(4)
Reckitt & Colman Products Ltd. Vs. Borden Inc (1990) 1 WLR 491 Cited with approval. Held the principles enunciated have been incorporated in Statutes.
Rustom Ali Molla & Ors. Vs. Bata Shoe Co.Ltd. AIR 1957 Cal 120, is no longer good law.
Appeal in a suit for infringement and passing off of the trade mark SONY.
The complaint against the respondents is that they were applying the same trade mark on their
products, being hosiery goods, briefs and underwear, without the authorisation
or consent of the appellants. In connection with this suit, an application for
interim injunction was taken out by the appellants before the trial court, seeking
restraint order on use of the mark SONY by the respondents. Such prayer was
rejected. Against this order of rejection of prayer for temporary injunction by the
trial court, appeal before this Court was preferred by Sony Corporation.

Full Bench
“We agree with the views expressed by the Hon'ble Division Bench in the order out of which this reference arises”. (Para 30)

Reference by DB.
“We are saying so as we ourselves are of the view that if a person is the holder of a trade mark which has acquired a wide reputation transcending international barriers even though in respect of a specified clause or category of goods, that trade mark cannot be allowed to be violated by another person in respect of different category of goods because in our view that other person will be deliberately using the trade mark of the former with an intent to get some undue advantage because of its reputation and goodwill."
Answered in affirmative

Piracy
Held that in such cases there is no purpose in ordering accounts against
persons dealing in piracy, no accounts are kept of such sales. It has further been held that merely because the
defendants chose not to contest the suit the defendants cannot escape the liability for damages. In fact this court has also taken judicial notice of the sales at least in Delhi by such vendors. I do not find any reason to disbelieve the witness of the plaintiffs regarding damages and find the plaintiffs entitled to a decree for Rs 14 lacs.